Lac Durand in Lanaudière: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Lanaudière, Quebec, you have Lac Durand. Elevation runs to 391 metres. Surface area is around 36 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The shoreline runs about 5.2 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. On our Lanaudière list it sits near the top for size. The nearest town is Saint-Michel-des-Saints, 3.8 km away. For a city, Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne is 111 km off. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Durand

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Lanaudière include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Lac Durand gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -15°C at the bottom of winter. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Plan any trip to Lac Durand around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Lac Dore, 0.7 km away. Check the current arrangement for Lac Durand.